Sanders increasing push for Democratic nomination

Bernie Sanders is fast expanding his political staff, crafting a delegate strategy and cultivating a vast volunteer corps and digital fundraising network that he believes can seriously challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Dismissed only a couple of months ago as a fringe candidate, the self-described democratic socialist senator from Vermont has proved in recent weeks that he is a contender to win the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Now Sanders is plotting his path to the nomination in what he expects will be a long race for delegates.

With Clinton falling in the polls and top Democrats increasingly concerned about her electability, Sanders is trying to take advantage by assembling a grass-roots machine modeled in part after Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Yet many serious obstacles stand between him and the nomination, and Sanders’ advisers acknowledge that their calculations would be complicated further if Vice President Joe Biden enters the race.

The growing Sanders operation in the early states now nearly rivals the Clinton campaign. He has 54 paid staffers in Iowa, 38 in New Hampshire and dozens more coming on elsewhere, compared with 78 field staffers in Iowa and 50 in New Hampshire for Clinton. Both are far larger than any Republican campaign.

Sanders is also moving swiftly to expand his presence in South Carolina and Nevada and to boost his standing among black and Latino voters.